Read Essays on:- 1. Essay on the Introduction of Vocational Education 2. Essay on the Need for Vocational Education 3. Essay on the Historical Background of Vocational Education 4. Essay on the Reasons for for Low Enrolment in Vocational Courses 5. Essay on the Failure of Vocational Education in India. Essay on ‘Vocational Education in India’ for class 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Vocational Education in India’ especially written for school and college students. Also learn about:- 1.History of Vocational Education in India 2.Importance of Vocational Education in India 3.Vocational Education in India 4.Vocational Education in India Essay 5.Status of Vocational Education in India 6.Vocational Education Essay.
Essay on Vocational Education in India
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Introduction of Vocational Education
- Essay on the Need for Vocational Education
- Essay on the Historical Background of Vocational Education
- Essay on the Reasons for for Low Enrolment in Vocational Courses
- Essay on the Failure of Vocational Education in India
Essay # 1. Introduction of Vocational Education:
The term vocational education is comprehensive and all embracing in nature. Apart from general education it indicates acquisition of knowledge and practical skills in different sectors of economic and social life. It is an integral part of general education. It is also an aspect of continuing education.
It prepares an individual to select a particular vocation or occupation. It ends the academic and theoretical nature of general education. It also stops the divorce between work and education.
It gives practical orientation to education which becomes meaningful and brings utility to the education s not merely technician-training. It is more than that. It prepares and activates the individual to understand the social reality and to realise his own potential within the frame work of economic development.
It broadens the educational horizons for the individual and it enables him to reach higher levels of achievement through self-learning. Vocationalisation means learning of a skill or a range of skills. It prepares an individual for specific competencies in different vocations.
Essay # 2. Need for Vocational Education:
1) It prepares an individual for life, for better economic and civic amenities.
2) It is needed to make education practical and useful. It can fulfill the needs of life in a better way.
3) It is essential for economic growth of the country It is needed to augment national productivity (GNP) agricultural as well as industrial.
4) Vocationalisation of education is helpful for the best and fullest utilisation of the human and natural resources of the country.
5) It is also needed to enhance the competency or efficiency of an individual in a particular vocation.
6) Supply of more skilled man-power or technical personnel at the grass-root level is facilitated by vocationalisation of education. Thus the entire society is benefited by an enlarged supply of technical leadership of middle grade.
7) Vocationalisation is needed to secure just sharing of the benefits of economic development and social justice.
8) It will surely improve the general educational attainments of the students.
9) It is helpful to earn a decent livelihood.
10) It is also psychologically sound because it is based on the principle of diversification of human energy and talent it provides ample scope to the students to select the type of education suited to them on the basis of their interests, abilities and aptitudes.
11) Vocationalisation opens more avenues or channels for self-employment.
Essay # 3. Historical Background of Vocational Education:
In Ancient India vocational education, though it was not an integral part of general education, was emphasised through the practice of different types of physical activities in the “ashramas” of “Gurus”. In Medieval India also no less importance was attached to vocational education.
Christian missionaries laid emphasis on vocational education in modern India. During the British Period, Wood’s Despatch of 1854 contemplated vocational education. Indian Education Commission of 1882 recommended the introduction of practical subjects in secondary schools.
It criticised the bookish, narrow theoretical and unpractical character of Indian education. Education must prepare the children for future life and help them to select a particular vocation. The commission proposed the introduction of two types of courses – A’ and ‘B’.
The former was intended for general education leading to university degree and the latter intended to give some practical training in vocational subjects at the secondary stage. It, therefore, proposed to introduce diversified curriculum at the middle school stage.
It recommended to give some instruction in technical and industrial arts to the students. Lord Curzon also keenly felt the need of spreading technical education in India. In 1917, the Calcutta University Commission pointed out that the great majority of university students pursue purely literary courses which only fit them for white-collar professions, (clerical, teaching, legal, administrative).
In 1937, the Wood and Abbot (S. H. Word, Director of Intelligence Board of Education; A. Abbot, Chief Inspector of Technical Education, Board of Education) report stressed on the need for general as well as vocational education. The report contained two parts – one dealing with general education and the other with technical and vocational education.
The second part of the report recommended that the curriculum of schools should include technical and vocational subjects. It was necessary not only for earning a living by manual labour but also for balanced development of an individual In the same year Mahatma Gandhi in his scheme of Basic Education insisted that manual and productive work should be an integral part of education.
He emphasised not only education of the brain and intellect but also education of the heart and hand. Basic education was essentially practical and vocational in nature. The Sargent Report (1944) also emphasised vocational education at the lower and upper primary stages.
The Secondary Education Commission (1952 – 53) intended to make education practical, useful and life-centred. It recommended multipurpose schools with diversified courses – Humanities, Science, Commerce, Technical, Fine Arts, Home Science and Agriculture. It also recommended a core curriculum for all students up to Class X.
The core curriculum included various types of arts and crafts such as spinning and weaving, wood craft, metal craft, gardening, tailoring, sewing, needle work and embroidery, workshop practice etc.
The Education Commission (1964-66) laid special emphasis on the spread of vocational education. “To bring education into closer relationship with productivity it is necessary to give a strong vocational bias to secondary education and to increase the emphasis on agricultural and technological education (professional) at the university stage. This is of special significant in the Indian situation where the educational system has been training young person’s so far mostly for Government services and the so-called white- collar professions (clerical, teaching, legal etc.)”.
The introduction of practical subjects in the secondary schools was first recommended by the Hunter Commission in 1882.
But till date that recommendation was not implemented in practice. Education must prepare the students for life and fulfill the needs of life. It must be practical and productivity based. “Even today the enrolment in the vocational courses at the secondary stage is only nine percent (9%) of the total enrolment, which is the lowest in the world.”
At the University level the percentage of enrolment in professional courses is only 25.
The overall picture has improved very slightly. The Commission observed “that we visualize the future trend of school education to be towards a fruitful mingling of general and vocational education – (a) general education containing some elements of pre-vocational and technical education, and vocational education, in its turn, having an element of general education. In the kind of society in which we will be living in the coming years, a complete separation between the two will not only be undesirable, but impossible. We also expect a considerable expansion of professional education at the university stage, especially in the agricultural and technological fields”.
(a) In the past, general education beyond the High School stage was mostly academic in nature..It had nothing to do with vocational training in useful practical subjects. The chief objective was preparation for higher education. A small percentage of “unfortunate” students, of course, joined either the polytechnics or the industrial training institutes (I.T.I.).
They were “unfortunate” in the sense that they possessed either “low intellectual abilities” or low economic status”. Thus the aim of general education was only to secure white-collar jobs.
(b) Vocational education, on the other hand, concentrated on vocations. It had nothing to do with general education. General education was not in the purview of the vocational institutions. Some people considered Vocational education as something inferior. Those who took such training were not considered educated or cultural people. But the view is, no doubt, erroneous and undemocratic.
Thus those who had general education did not have the required manual skills, and those who had the skills did not have adequate general education. Kothari commission, for the first time, tried to break the distinction between general education and vocational education. It proposed fruitful mingling of the two. It has recommended (10+2+3+2) structural pattern of education.
It has recommended 10 years secondary general education with tome pre-vocational training through work experience and 2 years Higher Secondary education with two types of courses – general and vocational. Specialisation will take place at this stage. The commission highly stressed vocationalization of Higher Secondary education.
It has also recommended vocationalisation of lower secondary education in a large measure and enrolment in vocational courses at this stage will be 20 percent of the total enrolment.
This target will be achieved by 1986. The percentage of enrolment at lower secondary stage (VIII – X) in vocational courses was only 3.1 in 1950-51. It was 2.2 in 1965-66. It was far from the desired goal (20%). At the Higher Secondary stage (XI – XII) the percentage of enrolment in vocational courses was 44.2 in 1950-51 of the total enrolment at this stage.
It was 40.3 in 1965-66. By 1986 the percentage of total enrolment in vocational courses will be 50 at the Higher Secondary stage. But due to various reasons this enrolment is at present 5% only.
Essay # 4. Reasons for Low Enrolment in Vocational Courses:
(1) Lower Secondary Stage: (VIII – X):
The Commission recommended to introduce a variety of courses in vocational education, either part-time or full time, at this stage. The following “Courses” are recommended at the end of Class VIII.
a) In the ITI, which provided variety of vocational courses, the age of admission should be reduced to 14 or 15.
b) Job-oriented terminal programmes should be provided in technical schools.
c) A large number of students who drop out after class VII or VIII will enter employment in family business. Some may set up their own small-scale industry or trade. A variety of courses should be available on a part-time or full time basis to them to obtain qualification or to upgrade their skills.
A special section should be set up in the Education Department to help such young person’s to obtain suitable opportunities for training either on a full-time or on a part-time basis and also to provide them with general education.
d) A large proportion of the rural boys will join the family farm. They will have to be provided with further education which will enable them to improve their professional efficiency and general education.
e) A large proportion of girls will leave school and get married. They should be given further education in home science combined with general education. In this respect correspondence courses or sandwich courses may greatly help.
f) Facilities for admission in the ITI’s and polytechnics should made more liberal.
g) More ITI’s and Polytechnics should be set up throughout the country. Liberal financial grants should be provided for the purpose. Agricultural polytechnics in rural areas and engineering polytechnics in urban areas may be set up.
h) Correspondence courses or sandwich courses should be introduced liberally.
i) Industrial undertakings or commercial concerns may start vocational classes either in the evening or in the morning for their employees. This will improve their professional efficiency as well as level of general education.
j) Facilities for workshop practice or training should be extended.
2) Higher Secondary Stage (XI – XII):
A wide range of vocational courses will be available at this stage to meet the needs of boys and girls in urban and rural areas, and to reach the target of 50 percent enrolment by 1986.
a) Apart from the expansion of facilities for full-time studies in the polytechnics or in the ITIs, part-time vocational courses should be developed at this stage. Industries and commercial concerns may take prominent part in this regard through the introduction of correspondence or sandwich courses.
b) They may also organise evening or morning classes for their employees who after completion of lower secondary stage (X) accepted employments.
c) Agricultural and engineering polytechnics should organise condensed courses for the upgrading of skills of those who have entered employment.
d) Agricultural polytechnics in rural areas and engineering polytechnics in urban areas may be set up in large number with the help of liberal grants from the Government. Commercial and Engineering farms should start such polytechnics.
e) A large number of courses offered in industrial training institutes (ITIs) require the completion of Class X as a qualification for entry. A rapid expansion of these facilities is urgently needed.
f) In addition to the above courses a wide range of other courses in health, Commerce, administration, small scale industries, tailoring, type writing, nursing, poultry farming etc. should be developed. These can also be offered on a part-time basis or through correspondence for those already in employment.
g) Facilities for workshop practice or training should be expanded.
In view of the importance of the programme, it is essential that special sections should be created within the State Deptts. of Education to take overall charge of the organisation of these courses, whether full-time or part-time. In organising such programmes, the sections should bear in mind the man-power needs and work in close collaboration with the engineering, industrial and commercial courses.
The Central Government should provide special grants to State Govts. in the centrally sponsored sector. The 7th Plan envisaged to establish 7,000 of which 200 would be centrally sponsored for the vocationalization of Secondary Education. Such central grants greatly stipulated vocationalization of secondary education in other progressive countries like U.S.A. or Japan.
Facilities for part-time education should be provided on a large scale at the lower secondary and Higher Secondary stages, in general and vocational courses. Part-time education will largely be of a vocational character. At lower secondary stage part-time courses may be organised for those students who have completed the primary school and are unable to continue their studies on full-time basis.
At the Higher Secondary stage part-time courses may also be developed for those students who have completed lower secondary schools and are unable to continue their studies on full-time basis. A desirable target would be 20 percent of the total enrolment at the lower secondary stage, and 50 per cent at the Higher Secondary stage.
At the lower secondary stage special emphasis should be given on the following two types of courses:
a) Courses in agriculture for those students who have left the primary school and taken to farming as a vocation;
b) Special courses for girls who have left the primary school at the age of 14 may be organised in home science or the household industries like tailoring, arts and crafts, poultry, dairying etc.
At the Higher Secondary stage part time courses in agriculture may be (a) organised for those students who have taken to agriculture as a career; (b) part time courses in industry for those who have joined it (c) part time courses for girls in home science and household industries; and (d) part time courses for those who want to be self-employed.
Opinion of the National Review Committee on curriculum at + 2 stage – Dr. Malcom S. Adiseshiah Committee – 1978.
The Higher Secondary stage has two streams:
(a) The General stream and
(b) The vocational stream.
The following is the pattern of the course and the distribution of time for teaching in the general stream:
1) Languages … 15%
2) Socially useful productive work … 15%
3) Electives (General) … 70%
The pattern of the course and the allocation of the time for teaching in the vocational stream have been recommended as following: –
1) Languages … 15%
2) General Education courses … 15%
3) Electives (vocational) … 70%
70% of the weekly hours of instruction have to be allocated to the teaching of vocational elective subjects. About 50% of these hours should be spent on practical work. Special attention should be given to the self-employment factor. Vocational education at the Higher Secondary stage should not duplicate the education imparted in the ITIs or Polytechnics.
The proposed vocationalisation should give emphasis on rural agriculture and related vocations. Competency can be acquired in the given time in the particular vocation. The vocational course should promote employability of the students. The duration of the vocational course should normally be two years in formal educational institutions. But it may be of short duration in the non-formal systems.
The following subjects may be offered as vocational electives:
1) Agriculture and Related vocations.
2) Business and Office Management.
3) Para-Medical.
4) Educational Services.
5) Local body and other services.
6) Journalism.
7) Home science and related vocations.
8) Commercial Art, Photography, Printing, Lithography, Ceramics, Poultry, etc.
Essay # 5. Failure of Vocational Education:
The scheme of vocationalisation of education has failed miserably because of:
(1) Unfavourable wage policies,
(b) Paucity of funds or resources and
(3) Absence of adequate job opportunities. Its success depends on total involvement of the community and
(4) Change of attitude towards vocational education as inferior one. The National Review Committee has recommended that there should be
(5) No rigid streaming of courses into General Education and Vocational Education Spectrums. But
(6) Use of the available facilities in the ITIs, polytechnics and industrial training schools should be made. The existing facilities should be extended.
(7) Liberal financial grants should be made for the purpose,
(8) New schools or institutes for vocational education should be constructed in rural areas as little or no vocational education facilities exist in rural areas.
(9) Massive pre-service and in-service training programmes for teachers for vocational education at plus 2 stage should be planned.
(10) Curriculum
(11) text books for vocational subjects should be prepared carefully by the academicians.
(12) Vocational education may be provided through non-formal system of education.
It should be linked with agriculture, programmes of rural reconstruction and schemes of self- employment. Vocationalisation is an imperative need for national economic development and rapid social transformation. To make the programme a success additional resource should be provided.
Any expenditure on vocationalisation should be regarded as a national investment for reconstruction. Making vocationalisation an integral part of our school curriculum at the Higher Secondary level is a very timely innovation. It has made our educational system multi-track instead of single-track. It has ushered a new era in our educational set-up. It is now at the stage of trial. Let us hope for the better.